Towel cabinet



Dec. 4, 1934. E. A. HAMNER 1,983,239

TOWEL CABINET I Filed Aug. 11, 1935 attorneys.

Patented Dec. 4, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

V TOWEL CABINET Elgin A; Hamner, Shreveport, La.

Application August 11, 1933, Serial No. 684,722 4 Claims; (01. 312-37) The present invention relates to improvements in towel cabinets, and hasfor an object to provide an improvedcabinet for holding a supply of fresh towels in readiness' for use while. holding the towels captive against the unauthorized removal' of the same.

The invention aims to provide acabinet .haviri'ga relatively great capacity and. atthesame time-occupying a minimum of space andfo'rm ing an unobtrusive article of furniture.

It isa'further object of the invention to provide an improved locking device for the towels in-combination with a cabinet'having a door giving" quickaccess tosuch locking devices; whereby the soiled towels may be :quickly removed and the cleaned towels replenished without consuming undue time of the service operator.

With the *foregoingan'd other objects in View, the invention will'bc more fu'llydescribed herematter; and 'will' be more particularly'pointed out 'in the claims appended heretd' I In the drawing, wherein like: symbols'refer to like or corresponding parts throughout the several views,

Figure-l-is a perspective view of an improved towel cabinet constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a vertical central section taken through the device.

Figure3 is a-ho'rizonta'l section taken on the line'-3'3in-'Figure 1. I FigureA is a similarview' takenon the-line 44=,-also in Figure 1.";

Figure 5 is a perspective view of I one of the lockingdevices;

Figure 6 is a perspective' view of a P towel employed,

Figure '7is a -similaryieW showing the towel which has beengiven an initial fold.

Figure 8 shows the fihalfolded condition of the towel, and

Figure 9 is afragmentary perspective view showinga stacked towel holder.

Referring more particularly to the drawing the cabinet is preferably 'of relatively-small horizontal cross sectional area butmay be relatively tall an'd consists "of a fixed bottom 10, fixed rear wall ll', sides '12 and a frontwall- 13.

The top of the cabinet is preferably formed on an inclin'a-tion as-ind-icated at Hand maybe closed by a cover lfi hinged at-16 to the side wall -12 adapted to close in the manner indicated' in LFi'gure 1. This sloping-cover -15 forms an appropriate support-for a-mirror 17 which the user may employ in arranging his toilet. The cover isvformed with a notch 18 atone cornerfor the passage of the vertical leg 19 of the wire, preferably resilient, upon which the towels are made captive by providing eyes or openings :20 incorner'portions of the towels which are slidingly received "upon the wire 19.

The 1 towels; folded in the -manner J illustrated in Figures '6, 7, and '8, are stackedupon a partition or shelf 21 mounted in the cabinet and dividing'the cabinet into a clean towel compartment and a soiled towel compartment, which latter lies below the shelf 21. The shelf 21 is perforated for the passageof the wire leg 19 downwardly therethrough sothat the lower end of such leg may enter between the jaws of a clamplock and be held securely in positionto preventits unauthorized removal. One form of clamp lock adapted for the purpose is shown in Figure 5, which illustrates a hinge having the leaves orjaws 22' and 23 mountedupon the pintle'24 for separation so that theone leaf 22 may. be moved outwardly as indicatedin dotted lines to free the wire 19.

The wire 19 extends upwardly to an appro-' priate distance above the cabinet top where it is formed into a loop 2'7, and from this point the wire descends into the longer leg: 28. This longer leg, as indicated in Figures 1 and '2 passes down through an opening 29 in one side wall 12 of the cabinet. After entering the'opening29 the wire preferably extends downwardly and toward the center of the cabinet in order to accommodate the soiled towels, one of which is illustrated in dottedrlines in Figure 2. Then the wire is bent toward'the rear wall '11 so that its lower end will be in position to 'be engaged by the 'clamp lock 30"which is of a similar construction to that clamp lock shown in Figure 5. The clamp lock 30 is also afiixed to the rear wall 11. The clamp'locksmay be secured to the wall 11' by 'screws'or any other suitable fastening means.

The ba'ck'wall 11 of'the cabinet is provided with'ventilating slots 31 associated withlouvres 32 to protect theslots and to exclude dust, thus expediting drying and preventing deterioration of used towels. These slots 31 may extend all the way up to the shelf 21 if desired and all'the way down to the bottom 10. The bottom is also formed with similar slots 31 The interior of the cabinet is accessible through a door 33 formed in the front wall 13 of the cabinet, the door being hinged, as indicated at34, .and having alock 35, the key to which is held by; the

proprietor of the cabinet. This door 33 may extend up to or above the shelf 21 to give the proprietor access to both the upper and lower clamp looks.

A guard 36 prevents unauthorized persons from gaining access to the upper clamp lock and such guard 36 may be in the form of a swinging door which tends to keep the front opening 29 closed except when a towel passes therethrough or the guard may be curled upwardly into the cabinet to maintain the opening 29 constantly free.

The towels may be of appropriate size but they need folding on account of the narrow horizontal dimensions of the cabinet.

A towel 37 of suitable area for the purpose intended is illustrated in Figure 6. .This towel is of cloth or other material and has an eye 20 in one corner thereof, the edge of the towel 38 adjacent the eye 20 is inclined so that when the towel is initially folded, as shown in Figure 7, the eye 20 is left exposed by virtue of the small triangular strip of material lying beyond the folded towel and produced by the inclined edge 38.

The final fold of the towel is indicated in Figure 8 in which the towel is folded at right angles to its first fold. This forms a very compact towel which will fit into a cabinet of narrow but relatively high dimensions.

The cabinet may stand upon feet or other devices 39, it being understood that a steady sup port will be needed on account of the height of the cabinet, and I do not wish to be restricted to any particular form of support.

In the use of the device, the cover 15 is raised and the top towel grasped and drawn upwardly, the eye 20 passing over the loop 27 and the towel being brought out and unfolded to a condition of use. After the face and hands have been wiped upon the towel the same is dropped through the opening 29 and it will descend along the long leg 28 of the wire downward in the soiled compartment of the cabinet, as shown in Figure 2. Here the towels will accumulate until all of the towels in the clean towel compartment are used. The proprietor then opens the side door 33 giving him access to both of the clamp locks which he unfastens thus freeing the towel wire. The lower end of the leg 28 may be pulled out through the side door 33 and the soiled towels stripped therefrom into a bag, basket or other container for conveying same to the laundry. A new stack of clean folded towels is placed upon the shelf 21 with the eyes 20 in registry. The method of folding and the construction of the cabinet will cause the eyes to aline so that the short wire leg 19 may be passed down through such eyes and into the clamp lock which may then be secured. After securing the lower clamp lock 30 the proprietor closes and secures the door 33 and the cabinet is in position for a resumption of use.

The clamp locks may be provided with bolts 26 whereby the leaves 22 and 23 are bound tightly about the ends of the wires 19, 28. These bolts will only be accessible when the door 33 is open.

However, an automatic device may be provided for opening the clamp locks, this device consisting of rods 50 pivoted to the inside of the door 33 and to the movable leaves 22 of the clamp device. In the closed position, as shown in Figure 4, the rods 50 will force the leaves 22 tightly against the companion leaves 23 and will exert great pressure upon the ends of the towel wire. The jaw 22 may be constructed of spring steel to secure additional pressure. When the door 33 is opened to the dotted line position shown in Figure 4, the clamp jaws 22 will be automatically pulled out enabling the withdrawal of the wire and the freeing of the towels.

The use of a wire 19, 28, of about 12 gage diameter is recommended:

Firstbecause it is resilient and permits the pulling toward or pushing from the user, the towel while being used, without undue strain on theeyes or openings 20.

Secondbecause it is inexpensive'and towels slide more easily and with less friction than on larger rods orchains.

Third-because, of its small diameter it is practical to use'a hollow tube with small outside diameter yet with inside diameter large enough to permit passage of Wire 19. This is impractical while using the large rods andchains commonly used as the eyes 20 in the towels cannot practically be made large enough. The use of a hollow tube, such as shown at 51 in Figure 9, is desirable for serving as a convenient means of keeping the openings 20 in registry as towels are being stacked in the laundry.

This tube 51 when cut to length desired for receiving the required number of stacked towels is equipped with a ring 52 or other means for fastening a tie string 53 at one end without obstructing the opening through the tube. This string is used for fastening towels onto tube and keeping towels in a compact package with the openings 20 in registry while being conveyed from laundry to user or cabinet. The towels may be quickly and conveniently transferred onto the wire 19 by passing the wire 19 through the tube 51 and withdrawing the tube from within the openings 20 of the towels and from off wire 19 at the same time, thus leaving the towels captive on the wire 19 which may then be passed through the perforation in the shelf 21 to lie between the jaws of the upper locking device or clamp. V

The tube 51 thus obviates the difiicult and troublesome problem of keeping the openings 20 in the towels in registry. The towel receiver or binder tube 51 may be made about one-fourth inch outside diameter, one-eighth inch inside diameter and six inches in length.

Although I do not wish to be restricted to dimensions, a cabinet of approximately 7 4" square and 50" in height is recommended.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications may be made in the details of construction and design of the above specifically described embodiment of this invention without departing from the spirit thereof, such changes and modifications being restricted only by the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An improved towel cabinet comprising a cabinet body having a clean towel compartment and a soiled towel compartment, a captive wire for the towels extending into both compartments, clamping means for securing both ends of the wire and each including a movable member, a door in the cabinet, and an operative connection between said door and each movable member to move the latter upon opening of the door so as to free the ends of the wire.

2. An improved towel cabinet comprising a cabinet body having a clean towel compartment and a soiled towel compartment, a captive wire for the towels extending into both compartments, clamping means for securing both ends of the wire and each including a fixed and a movable member, a door in the cabinet, and an operative connection between said door and each movable member to move the latter upon opening of the door so as to free the ends of the wire and to force the movable member tightly against the fixed member to clamp the ends of the wire firmly therebetween.

3. An improved towel cabinet comprising a cabinet body having a clean towel compartment and a soiled towel compartment, a captive wire for the towels extending into both compartments, a clamping device for securing each end of the wire and including a member fixed to the interior of the cabinet body and a movable member pivoted to said fixed member, a door for the cabinet body, and rods connected to said door and one to each movable member and actuated by said door to swing the movable member against and away from the fixed member upon closing and opening of the door respectively.

4. An improved towel cabinet comprising a cabinet body having an opening in one wall and an open top, a clean towel supporting shelf in the cabinet above said opening, a wire having one leg passing down through the open top of the cabinet through the towels and through and below said shelf, said wire having a longer leg extending down on the exterior of the cabinet through said opening and into the space below said shelf, locking means disposed within the cabinet and above said opening for engaging the end of the wire, extending through and below said shelf, a door pivoted to the cabinet for masking said opening when closed and adapted to be swung upwardly and inwardly toward the locking means to unmask said opening whereby said door at all times prevents access to said locking means.

ELGIN A. HAMNER. 

